2019 Board of Directors

Chris Welty, AIA
2019 President

Chris is a tenured associate professor at Kennesaw State University in the College of Architecture and Construction Management and serves as the Department of Architecture Profession Program Sequence coordinator, and the KSU Architect Licensing Advisor for the National Council of Architectural Registration Board.

When not teaching Chris heads his small multimedia design firm, weltyworld, which specializes in the creation of spatial experiences in a virtual computer environment. His firm focuses on visualization, architectural animations, and web development. This expertise has led to an array of clients from architects and builders to developers and corporate owners.

Karen Jenkins, AIA
2020 President

Karen is the co-founder and managing partner of Shear Structural, an all-women owned and managed structural engineering firm in Chamblee, Georgia. She is both a licensed engineer and architect, with over 30 years of practice in structural engineering and design. Karen’s background and experience in both disciplines gives her a unique perspective on the industry. She holds degrees from both the University of Florida and Georgia Tech. In 2018 and 2019, Karen was named one of the ‘Top 100 Influential Women in Engineering’ by Engineering Georgia magazine.

Bill Clark, AIA
2018 President

Bill is a managing principal of Stevens & Wilkinson, a 120-person architecture, engineering, and interior design firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. Bill has been providing client-focused architectural services for over 40 years. His range of knowledge expertise covers the spectrum of project types including cultural, K-12 and higher education, government, adaptive reuse/preservation, mixed-use, and office and corporate spaces.

Bill received his Masters and Bachelor of Science degrees in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a registered architect and member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), as well as past president of the Atlanta chapter.

Greg Mullin, AIA
Treasurer

Greg is a principal at the Atlanta office of PGAL, an international architecture, engineering, and planning firm. Prior, he served as director of operations at Collins Cooper Carusi Architects. Greg received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA degree from Georgia State University.

Ian Hunter, AIA
Secretary

An associate principal at tvsdesign, Ian is a licensed architect and registered interior designer with strong backgrounds in education, residential, corporate office, and hospitality design. His broad experience covers design and construction phases of countless projects, ranging from single-story orthopedic centers in New Jersey to 6,000-room pilgrimage hotels in Mecca.

Simon Martinez, AIA
Development Director

Simon is an associate principal at tvsdesign with nearly two decades of professional experience. At tvsdesign, he brings unmatched office, project design management and innovative procedural technical expertise. Throughout his career in architecture and construction, clients have benefited from his consistent involvement in the total design and construction process with hands-on approach to guidelines and procedures focusing on opportunities, growth and quality architectural work. Current tvsdesign project involvement includes the “Las Vegas Convention Center – Phase II expansion”

Mark Chen, AIA
Development Director

Mark is the managing principal of LEO A DALY’s Atlanta studio. In this role, he oversees design, operations and business strategy, leveraging talent across the globe to deliver world-class design services. He has 37 years of experience in the master planning and design of facilities in the U.S., Europe and China, including mixed-use, healthcare and education projects. Mark received his Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University and Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University.

Jeffrey Collins, AIA
Programs Director

Jeffrey earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in architecture from Ohio State University and a doctorate in architecture with concentration in design computation from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Jeffrey is assistant professor of architecture at Kennesaw State University.

Jessika Nelson, Assoc. AIA
Programs Director

Jessika Nelson is a graduate of Southern Polytechnic State University (Kennesaw State University) with a Bachelor Degree of Architecture. She has had the opportunity to gain architectural experience while in school as an Intern Architect. She is now a proud employee at Mill Creek Residential Trust in Atlanta, Georgia. She has had the pleasure of working as a volunteer for the Georgia Regional Future City Competition since 2012 and participates in CANstruction for Atlanta Community Food Bank since 2011. Jessika enjoys traveling, playing recreational softball and the occasional house renovation.

Daniel Dixon, AIA
Advocacy Director

Daniel Dixon is a project architect at The Beck Group, who has a passion for problem solving, technology and collaboration. He is a public speaker, former toastmaster and an Eagle Scout. His extensive knowledge of BIM and inspiration to help others advance their skills has led him to speak at national technical conferences such as Autodesk University, as well as mentor other young architects.

Desmond Johnson, AIA
Emerging Professionals and Membership Director

Desmond Johnson is a registered architect currently practicing in the Atlanta regional office of Moody Nolan. He is a 2013 alum of Florida A&M University, where he received his B.S. in Architectural Studies; and a 2015 alum of the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received his Master of Architecture degree. Desmond has a broad range of experience in both the public and private sectors, where he has successfully contributed to mixed-use, multi-family, office, hospitality, retail, institution, and urban design projects of varying scales. In addition to serving as the local Emerging Professionals and Membership Director, he is on the planning committee for the Young Architects Forum.

Joanna is a senior project coordinator at The Beck Group’s Atlanta office.

Laura Morton, AIA
Communications Director

After receiving her Bachelor of Architecture from Oklahoma State University in 2010, Laura came to Stevens & Wilkinson in early 2011. She is a dynamic and energetic Associate dedicated to client satisfaction. Laura has a strong working relationship with each of her clients and effectively works with contractors to maintain construction schedules and budgets. As project architect/project manager, she works on urban development, adaptive reuse, and mixed-use projects up to 350,000 SF throughout the southeast.

Outside of work and AIA Atlanta, Laura is active in several other organizations, including Equity in Architecture and ULI, and is a 2019 graduate of the Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program.

Robert Woodhurst, AIA
Communications Director

Robert earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Architecture from Georgia Tech, where he also served as vice president of the local AIAS chapter. He has since been involved with AIA Atlanta’s YAF program, Build Something Great, and the High School Design Competition. Part of the inaugural 2018-19 class, Robert is also a graduate of AIA Georgia’s Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program.

As a project architect with Smith Dalia, Robert contributed to designs for Inman Quarter, Armour Yards, and Emory’s Phi Gamma Hall. Outside of architecture, Robert is a mediocre fly fisherman, occasional SCUBA diver, and practiced cruciverbalist.

Brandon Chambers, Assoc. AIA
Continuing Education Director

Brandon is a senior project coordinator at The Beck Group.

Randy Parrish
Allied Director

Randy, with our 2019 patron Smart Lighting Solutions, is a 39-year veteran of the lighting and controls industry spending most of that time servicing the design industry along with his responsibilities as an agency principal and sales professional. He has most recently been involved in the renovation of Hartsfield Jackson Airport and the ongoing upgrading of MARTA station lighting.

Over his career he has served as president of the Georgia Section of the Illuminating Engineer Society and remains a long-standing board member of that organization. He is a proud eight-year patron of AIA Atlanta. Randy is a graduate of Florida State University.